SAS and HELP CAT to offer joint certification for big data

By Digital News Asia January 2, 2015

SAS and HELP CAT collaborate to increase big data talent pool
New modules in BI, statistics, data mining, predictive modelling, etc.

SAS and HELP CAT to offer joint certification for big data

BUSINESS analytics software company SAS Institute and the HELP College of Arts and Technology (HELP CAT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that would see them offering a joint certificate for the latter’s Diploma in Business Information Systems and Bachelor of Science (Hons) Business Information Systems programmes.

This joint certification would equip HELP CAT students with highly sought after big data analytics skills which would help fuel a data-driven economy in Malaysia, SAS said in a statement.

The MoU outlines a joint certification programme with SAS which will introduce new modules in Business Intelligence, Statistics, SAS Programming, Data Mining and Predictive Modelling into HELP CAT’s existing diploma and bachelor programmes.

Market research by the International Data Corporation (IDC) has indicated that the Malaysian IT market is anticipated to cross the US$10-billion mark by the end of 2014, thus creating a wealth of opportunities in the local market, SAS said.

In addition to this, the IDC predicts that the big data market is expected to see further growth when more big data talents are made available to create a complete ecosystem with capabilities to deliver end-to-end big data solutions, consultancy and other needed services for businesses.

According to Sheikh Manzoor Ghani, head of sales operations at SAS Malaysia, the partnership between SAS Malaysia and HELP CAT was an effort on its part to increase the pool of big data talent to meet the rising demand for these rare skills.

“Employees with big data skillsets are in demand but there is a shortage of supply. With the increase of big data comes the need to analyse it.

“Companies across all industries including the government are starting to look into big data analytics to help them solve problems in every department. Therefore, career opportunities for students with big data skills in Malaysia or abroad are endless.

“Banks are modernising their IT infrastructure and applications and have started to adopt advanced analytics from their risk to marketing functions.

“Telcos have also started to use analytics to understand customer behaviour in order to improve their product, pricing and profitability.

“Manufacturing companies are using analytics to right-size their production and supply according to demand.

“Government departments have also started to initiate big data projects to improve public security, health, pricing of goods as well as to understand public sentiment,” he added.

HELP CAT president and chief executive officer Dr Choong Yeow Wei highlighted the importance of having strong partnerships with industry leaders such as SAS in order to provide university students with the most relevant skills and knowledge to boost their employability.

“We are always striving to improve the quality of the programmes we offer at HELP CAT and this partnership provides our students with a globally recognised credential that will undoubtedly give them an edge with future employers,” he said.

As part of the partnership, HELP CAT will be able to utilise the new SAS University Editor (SUE) and SAS on-Demand for Academic (SoDA) to help HELP CAT lecturers become SAS-accredited instructors.

The MoU will also see SAS and HELP CAT jointly facilitate job placements for HELP CAT students with SAS' clients once they graduate.

For further information regarding HELP CAT Information Technology Programmes, click here.

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